The silverbeet and ricotta pie recipe you need this Easter

Getting into the Easter spirit is about more than just chocolate eggs and the Easter Bunny. Getting a good feed at this time is essential, and this crowd-pleaser brings 'eggs' into your Easter feast in pie form...

Ingredients:

8 eggs

1kg silverbeet

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

500g ricotta

finely grated rind of one lemon

1 cup grated parmesan

1 teaspoon nutmeg

salt and cracked black pepper

olive oil, for brushing

8 sheets filo pastry

Method:

Preheat oven to 190C.

Trim most of the white stalks from the silver beet and discard. Roughly chop the remaining stalks and leaves and rinse (do not dry).

Heat a large pan over medium low heat and add the silver beet. Cook for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the stalks are soft (you may need to do this in batches). Remove from the pan and set aside.

Heat the same pan again, add the olive oil and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and continue cooking for a minute.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, three lightly beaten eggs, lemon rind, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the onion once it has softened.

When the silver beet is cool enough to handle squeeze as much remaining moisture out as you can, finely chop then add to the ricotta mixture. Set aside.

Brush a 26cm spring form cake tin with oil. Line the base with a sheet of filo, laying it a little off centre so the excess falls over the side of the tin. Brush with more oil and top with another sheet, laying it at an angle to the first sheet and allowing the excess to fall over the side of the tin. Continue brushing with oil and layering with filo.

Once finished, spoon in the ricotta mixture. Make five indentations in the filling with the back of a wooden spoon and crack an egg into one.

Fold the overhanging filo back into the centre of the tin to fully enclose the filling. Brush with a little more oil.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Stand for 5 minutes before gently remove from the tin. Serve with a simple salad.